Andrew Hartman – Page 28 – Syndeo Communications

XP End of Life: What do Business Customers Need to Know?

After a great run, Windows XP is set for retirement. Next April, Microsoft is will end support for the popular OS. This is jarring news to the estimated 40% of business desktops still running on XP. What does this mean for you and your San Diego business and how can you prepare?

End of Life

On April 8 of next year, Microsoft will end extended support for the XP operating system. For businesses still running XP, this means no more patches except those remedying the most critical of security flaws, no new drivers for the latest hardware, and severely limited customer service should issues arise. No, Windows XP will not magically stop working on that day; it just means you’re on your own, unless you enlist in help from a professional San Diego IT support company.

Preparing for the End

The first step in readying for XP’s end is to decide whether to stay with the OS or to upgrade. As a business ourselves, we understand that some companies may not be in a position to roll out a mass desktop OS upgrade before April. It is vital these businesses have competent XP support in place and, more importantly, a strategy for the eventual upgrade. While XP will still be around, new hardware and software will make an upgrade harder to delay as time goes by. The upgrade will not be able to be held off for long.

Companies planning to upgrade need to start preparing right away. Project management, end-user education, license management, software install and troubleshooting all need to be plotted to the letter to ensure a smooth upgrade. To save time and money, businesses may consider hiring the services of a San Diego computer consulting company to perform the upgrade. A third party specializing in this service will minimize downtime and handle all aspects of the rollout.

Finally, whether upgrading or staying with XP, companies need to examine their IT policies. Microsoft publishes End of Life data far in advance, so how did this date creep up on these businesses? Also, desktops running XP are likely old hardware. This could be a teachable moment where IT departments can encourage business owners to enact strict hardware and software replacement and upgrade policies to avoid the fast-approaching End of Life dates to come.

Whether you need help with the update from XP or are interested in learning more about another IT solution, Syndeo Communications is here to help. Contact us today and one of our expert IT consultants will be more than happy to assist you with your question or computer issues.

Internet Explorer 11: What’s New?

Microsoft recently released the Developer Preview edition of the newest iteration of Internet Explorer. Built to run on Windows 7 and aimed at web designers and web app developers, Internet Explorer 11 Developer Preview gives us an advanced look at some enhancements designed to improve performance and provide a better experience for business and home users.

As a trusted computer consulting company in San Diego, we like to stay up to date with industry news so we can pass our knowledge onto our customers. We’ve taken a look at the Developer Preview and expect the new Internet Explorer 11 to be:

Faster. JavaScript is an integral component in many of the most frequently-utilized web sites worldwide. Internet Explorer 11 has been optimized to run JavaScript more efficiently, boasting a 50% performance increase over Google Chrome. IE 11 also is the first version of the browser to utilize WebGL, a standard that allows applications to access video card hardware directly. This results in quicker-loading graphics and text.
More intuitive. IE11’s increased Java support and adherence to HTML5 means users will be able to manage files and applications more intuitively. For example, businesses that utilize web applications like Office 365 or Dropbox will be able to make use of a new interface that better mimics the desktop apps they’re familiar with. Functionality like drag and drop, for example, is now possible with HTML5.
Enhanced aesthetically. The aforementioned WebGL functionality of IE 11 is a difference maker. This is especially true for web-based businesses. San Diego companies will be able to develop more visually appealing sites, relying on their visitors’ hardware to render higher quality images and video. Static, bland sites don’t cut it anymore. Internet Explorer 11’s enhanced graphical capabilities can give site owners an advantage that could lead to higher traffic and more business.
Focused on Web 3.0. The new buzzword is “Web 3.0.” Web 1.0 consisted of plain, static pages while Web 2.0 stressed interactivity and a customized user experience. The Web 3.0 concept is focused on web-based applications, including online backup and IT solutions, workplace productivity applications and online CRM solutions. Businesses that use managed applications like this can save money on software licensing, hardware and IT staffing. Internet Explorer 11’s HTML5 compliance will deliver a better web app experience and empower companies to leverage the power of Web 3.0.

Thinking about making the jump to Internet Explorer 11? Contact the Syndeo IT consultants in San Diego for more information and learn other ways in which we can help you increase your efficiency and bottom line.

Fixing Supply Chain Problems with Cloud Solutions

Managing the supply chain has always been a difficult and it’s even tougher when the global marketplace is involved. Just about any consumer good we pick off the shelf is the end result of the cooperation of a diverse line of outsourced manufacturers and other service providers. The actions of these companies create a complicated process from start to finish, which can be difficult comprehend and even more difficult to manage. Among all the problems we face in managing the supply chain, chief among them is communication.

In the global supply chain, companies’ communications vary and it is often impossible to fully observe the progress of the supply chain. In order to remain competitive and agile, complete visibility into the supply chain is vital. Can an IT service such as cloud computing fix the visibility problem? Two popular sites offer a glimpse of what cloud-based supply chain management could look like.

The Facebook Model: We’re all familiar with Facebook and how it allows for easy, fast communication through postings and status updates. How about supply chain management system with a similar layout? Suppliers, manufacturers and end-product sellers all over the world could “friend” each other and receive updates faster than email blasts or phone calls. It would also be easier to update than creating an announcement on a corporate web site. Pricing information, schedules, contact data and more could be available in an instant, fixing one major issue in the supply chain communication problem.

The UPS Model: The United Parcel Service offers a user friendly online tool that enables their customers to see exactly where their packages are. Why can’t this be done with the global supply chain? Imagine a service where a company could check on a single website, which would be updated by their partners, where they could find out the exact status of their goods and materials. They would be able to plan schedules accordingly and also get a better understanding of delays and other problems with the supply chain.

New cloud and IT solutions in San Diego are emerging to address the many problems businesses face every day. A cloud solution following a familiar model could be exactly what global businesses need to finally fix the supply chain communication and management problem.

Is your business struggling with communication and efficiency? Learn how you can increase your productivity and profit by reorganizing your IT infrastructure. Whether you need IT solutions such as cloud computing or are in need of vital IT support in San Diego, turn to computer consulting experts at Syndeo Communications.

Pros and Cons of Hosted VoIP for Business

Replacing an existing and possibly outdated telephone system with a cloud-based Voice over Internet Protocol solution is an attractive option for many companies. Is getting rid of that old PBX and implementing a VoIP system right for your San Diego business?

Benefits

Lower cost of management: Your phone system is costing you money. Hardware maintenance and daily administration are just two of the various ways that PBX is a drain on a company’s wallet. Fortunately, San Diego IT solutions such as hosted VoIP, remove these costs and replace them with a simple monthly fee.
No hardware to buy: A standard phone system can cost thousands of dollars. Hosted VoIP on the other hand is simply a web-based service, and therefore requires no up-front hardware expenditure.
Pay as you go: Traditional phone systems need capacity for growth, so you’re paying up front for capacity you won’t use until later. Hosted VoIP providers typically charge on a per-user basis. This means a company is paying for exactly what it needs and nothing more.

Drawbacks

No power or Internet? No phone: Hosted VoIP solutions rely on your company’s existing Internet connection. Loss of web connectivity, through provider outage or through power loss, will also take down your phone system in a hosted VoIP situation.
Voice quality: It’s crucial to evaluate VoIP providers and their proposed solutions. Some providers only use public Internet. In that case, quality will fluctuate with traffic. A San Diego IT consulting firm can help businesses find a VoIP system that offers a direct connection which will help ensure the best-sounding call.
It’s out of your control: If you own the PBX, you can choose how and when to service it. Hosted solutions take that level of control away from you. What if they have an outage? What if they go out of business? Any business owner that goes with a hosted provider for VoIP or any other technology needs to make peace with the fact that they are sacrificing control for cost savings and convenience.

With hosted VOiP, you can say goodbye to expensive monthly phone bills, saving hundreds of dollars each month. To learn if VOiP is the right solution for your business, contact Syndeo Communications today. We are a trusted San Diego Computer Consulting Company, helping small and medium size businesses make the most of their technology. For more information, call us today at 760-650-3300.

DSL, Cable or FiOS?

A reliable and steady Internet connection is not only vital for increased productivity but also an important link between clients and businesses. This is especially true for small businesses which may rely on that link to utilize cost-saving cloud applications. Gone are the days of dial up connections. Broadband is now the way to go. However, within the broadband category, small business owners have several options to choose from. These include DSL, Cable and FiOS and choosing the right type can make the difference between high productivity and inefficiency. Want to know which is the best choice for you? At Syndeo Communications, your trusted San Diego IT Support provider, we believe that it all comes down to speed, price and availability.

DSL
DSL stands for “Digital Subscriber Line.” It is offered by telephone companies and is distributed through telephone lines, taking advantage of unused frequencies in these existing connections. Because the infrastructure is so widespread, DSL is the most common type of broadband connectivity. While speed and service options vary among DSL providers, this is typically the least expensive broadband option.

Pro: Coverage. DSL is available in more places, especially rural areas.
Con: DSL is the slowest of the three broadband options, typically only twice as fast as dial-up.

Cable
Cable broadband, distributed by cable television providers over their existing infrastructure, is the second most common type of broadband service available to small business owners. Cable offers faster speeds than DSL, though performance may take a hit depending on how many other subscribers are active in your area at any given time. Cost-wise, every cable provider has its own tiered pricing and package-based offerings, making price judgments a “your mileage may vary” proposition.

Pro: Better speed for the price compared to DSL.
Cons: Not as widely available as DSL, slower than FiOS.

FiOS
FiOS is the newest broadband service. It is only offered by Verizon and is only available in areas where Verizon has run fiber optic cable. This makes FiOS the absolute fastest broadband Internet service available to small business customers. Prices vary by location but since the service is in its relative infancy, promotional packages are available.

Pro: It is a fiber optic service, so signals are delivered at the speed of light.
Con: Compared to DSL and cable, market penetration is very low at this time.

Choosing the right type of internet connection can make a huge difference when it comes to workplace productivity. Sluggish internet connections can cost frustration and thousands of dollars each year. If you are not sure what’s the best option for you, please feel free to give us a call for an over the phone consultation. As a premier San Diego computer consulting company, we take the time to understand your needs and propose the best solutions to our clients. Call us at 760-650-3300 to speak with a representative now.

4 Tips on Promoting your Brand on LinkedIn

Aimed squarely at professionals, LinkedIn can be a powerful tool for promoting your brand in the B2B sphere. Businesses of all sizes use social media as an effective and inexpensive way to promote themselves. On the business side, no social media site is more important than LinkedIn. Are you utilizing LinkedIn to its fullest? Here are four quick tips that will ensure you are making the most of LinkedIn. Brought to you by Syndeo Communications, your trusted San Diego IT support company.

Your profile is key: Since the goal is to drive traffic to your LinkedIn profile, it’s crucial to have an informative and well-organized page to show your visitors once they get there. You need a strong description of your brand, a thorough listing of your services, captivating profile images and a captivating and descriptive headline. You must evaluate your page constantly. A good way to gauge the effectiveness of your LinkedIn profile is to ask “would you do business with you?”

Join groups: LinkedIn is full of great groups covering every subject imaginable. You need to join groups that relate to your business or brand and contribute to discussions. However, it is crucial to pay close attention to the content you post and make sure you are adding value to the discussion. Valued contributors will get attention and traffic whereas spammers will be ignored.

Endorse others: LinkedIn’s “endorse” feature allows members to vouch for the expertise and service of other professionals and businesses. Endorsements are a critical tool you need to use to build your network. The more people and brands you endorse, the more likely they will return the favor. Others will see these endorsements and will check out your profile.

Stay Active: It’s difficult to dedicate time to so many things, however staying active on LinkedIn is a must. The three tips above are crucial but you will have no success on LinkedIn unless you make time to execute them. Make time every day to freshen your profile’s content, participate in groups, and network. The more LinkedIn members see you as an active member of the community, the more familiar and comfortable they will be with your brand. This type of organic growth will lead to social media success and better promotion for your business.

Maintaining Privacy in a Digital World

As the saying goes, “what happens on the Internet, stays on the Internet.” This is more true than you may possibly realize. Information is being scanned and cataloged on a regularly basis whether it is a post on a blog site or comments to your sister about her hair on Facebook. Originally, this information was gathered by search engines to merely improve search results tailored to specific information. However, government agencies as well as private organizations and competitors are now using the same process to catalog information and investigate individuals and companies. As an IT Support provider, we always come across clients who are concerned about the privacy of data because in business, data is everything.

Online privacy invasion is not only limited to open or public forums, blogs and websites. Unfortunately, Governments and private organizations around the world are gaining ground against online privacy and are able to obtain email, phone, and other non-public information. Although some of the Internet censorship and control has been previously thwarted in areas, such as SOPA, it is getting surprisingly more difficult to protect your information from the prying eyes of government surveillance and private information gathering services.

Although it may seem hopeless at times, there are several organizations that are putting forth a great deal of money and effort into preventing this invasion of private and business information. The Freedom Online Coalition has spent millions of dollars trying to fill in the holes of online freedom that various governments are digging.

While this may provide a dim view of online privacy and data security, there are ways to ensure that your business and private information is inaccessible. Getting started with a professional IT Audit is a good first step. Privacy software can also be installed in order to prevent “big brother” from watching every aspect of your business.

Changing your existing ways of how you store and access business data may be inconvenient at times, but it may still be better than allowing the government, competitors, private parties and others from accessing confidential business information. The first step to ensuring privacy and security for your organization comes from you. Monitor what you and your employees place on the Internet and social media sites. If you’re colleagues, employees, friends and family can read it, so can everyone else. As a computer consulting company, we always recommend an IT audit to our clients to determine how secure their data is. To learn more about our San Diego IT audit services, please give us a call at 760.650.3300.

Should You Make the Switch to Google Docs?

With the rise in cloud-based services, it’s become clear that desktop productivity software is becoming a thing of the past. While Microsoft is struggling to catch up with its fledgling cloud-based Office products, Google is running strong with Google Docs. Why should your small or medium-sized business choose Google Docs over standard desktop apps? Brought to you by Syndeo Communications, your trusted San Diego IT consulting company.

Better collaboration: Collaboration and sharing are core features of Google Docs while MS Office is built on the same “one user, one copy” formula as always. Microsoft is trying to catch up but Google Docs, purpose-built with collaboration at its core, is already there.
Application costs: MS Office licenses can cost up to $200 per user. Google Docs offers a pay-as-you-go plan at $5 per user per month or $50 per year. Companies using Google Docs can save hundreds every month.
Efficient IT: Smaller businesses can’t afford to have their reduced IT staff deploying and troubleshooting Office issues all day. Google Docs takes over the support burden for desktop productivity, freeing the IT support team to do more important things.
Infrastructure costs: To run Google Docs, you only need an Internet connection and desktop hardware. Office requires a file server to share docs, additional document management software if you want true collaboration, a database server to keep track over everything, remote connectivity infrastructure for collaboration between HQ and field staff and much more. It simply costs more for the infrastructure needed to create the type of collaboration that Google Docs does for free in most cases. You need less IT support, less network support and save a lot of time.
No worries: Google Docs is a cloud service. All docs are stored elsewhere, so a laptop or server crash at your office has no impact on productivity and no loss of important data. There’s also no need to worry about backups, including costly backup tapes, backup hardware and software and offsite tape storage. Google hands all of that.

We at Syndeo Communications are all about productivity. If you are interested in learning more about Google Docs for collaboration, please feel free to get in touch with us.

3 Tips to Help Put an End to Sluggish Computers

Like all machines, computers will start to slow down overtime. When this happens, it can be troublesome for your productivity. Even worse, you may not have the budget to purchase new machines for all your employees. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to keep your computer running smoothly. Syndeo Communications in San Diego offers 3 tips that will help put an end to your sluggish computers:

Shutdown the computer properly. When your computer freezes, it is tempting to simply hit the power button to turn the computer off. However, this shutdown method is not good for your computer’s health. When your computer experiences an unexpected shut down, damage can be done to the operating system. You should always use proper shutdown procedures and if you must turn off your computer quickly, use CTRL + ALT + DLT and select shut down from menu.

Use an antivirus program – Antivirus programs that scan on a regular basis help stop viruses and other malware from hijacking system resources, helping to prevent computers from running slower or crashisg. All business computers should have antivirus programs to protect important data and information. For other tips on how to keep your network safe, click here.

Remove unnecessary programs. The computers in your office likely have a variety of programs on them, some of which your employees may not need or use any more. These programs take up valuable hard drive space and should be removed to help your computers run more efficiently.

If you are looking for other San Diego IT solutions to increase productivity, contact Syndeo Communications. Our experienced IT professionals will conduct an honest assessment of your business and provide you with recommendations to help secure and support your current IT infrastructure. Call us today at 760.650.3300.

We Never Thought It Could Happen to US

As an IT services company, it isn’t very often we have exciting things happen in our business. Usually all of our exciting happenings are around our clients and their world. This month was different.

Earlier this month I was checking emails early in the morning before heading over to the office and had an alert at 12am from one of our computers that was offline. I thought to myself, “oh brother, the power went out again or the internet went down.” I tried to log in to see if it was back online and it wasn’t. I knew it probably wasn’t the internet and was thinking it was probably the power.

I arrived at the office early in anticipation of having to restart some of the office equipment and as I turned the corner I noticed that the outside building lights were on so I thought to myself, “the power has to be on since the outside lights are on.” I entered our office and it was dark; the power was out in our office. I checked the circuit breakers and they were all fine. I noticed that my neighbor in the building next door was outside so I went out and exclaimed, “Hi! Is your power out?” to which he replied, “you didn’t hear what happened last night?”

He goes on to say that he got a call early in the morning and apparently there were some thieves attempting to steal the main 400a circuit breakers on the outside of the buildings (the ones locked in the electrical cabinet). He continued by saying that the thieves were spooked off before they could actually steal his breaker but had disconnected all the wires that connect the building to the breaker. He had a call into an electrician to reconnect the cables and wires.

At that moment, we both ran over to the back of our building and he said, “I never even thought they did anything to your building.” Sure enough the metal cabinets were busted open and the breakers for all 3 tenants in our building were ripped out and gone!

Now the story gets interesting. I called the landlord and he was shocked. Why would anyone want to steal a power breaker? The landlord said he would get an electrician and be over to the building in a couple of hours. I’m thinking, “A couple of hours!?” I need to be working and we have customers that depend on us.

Do you have the right IT support and backup plan in place to survive an unforeseen disaster? Fortunately, we did. I had loosely planned for something like this but had never tested it. I had a couple of generators and enough gasoline to run what we needed to run in order to continue working. I fired up the generator and plugged it into the power conditioner and was able to turn on our electronic equipment and get the office essentially up and running.

In the meantime the landlord realized that the thieves hadn’t stolen the “house” power breakers–the ones that power the lights on the outside of the building. With the electrician’s help we were able to connect our lines to that circuit box and be up on grid power by 3:30pm. All I can say is thank goodness for the generator! It ran like a champ. The unfortunate thing about using the house power is we cannot run AC or anything beyond computers or lights. This is because it is on a 100a circuit versus what we had which was 400a.

To complicate matters more, the process to fix what was stolen is more than simply running down to the industrial electric supply and buying a new 400a breaker. Since the breaker was attached to the cabinet it was connected to a custom electrical “bus” which was stolen also. Oddly enough this isn’t what was valuable to the thieves; they were after the breaker which is apparently worth about $1500 used. However being that this bus is custom built, it had to be rebuilt and that takes days. As I’m writing this, it has been 7 days and we still don’t have our own power back yet.

I learned a few things from this with the first being make sure you have a plan in place for the unexpected. If your business cannot run without electricity, then maybe you need to invest in an electric generator and conditioner to provide some power to your office? While no plan is perfect, at least have a process that you have documented so that you can just execute when the time comes. For us it is critical to have power at our offices and for this reason I have to be able to survive off the grid so to speak. Click here and learn how your business can continue to operate even under the most adverse conditions.

Syndeo Communications specializes in business disaster recovery planning and data. Protecting your physical assets is one thing and thank goodness the thieves didn’t break into our suite; but if they had, I know I have a copy of our data in a safe and secure location that is protected. Are you certain that your data is protected as well? What is your plan for business continuity for something that may disrupt operations?